What we did

Hanson UK is the leading supplier of heavy building materials to the UK construction industry. They were looking for a new high quality company headquarters which:

Showcased their products within an exposed concrete soffit office building;

Had open plan office floors which opened onto the main atrium;

Included a meeting room suite and creche.

Such a specification could have led to significant reverberation control issues. Office workers, particularly those with desks close to the atrium balcony, would, for example, have had to endure unwanted disturbance from catering and circulation on the lower floors of the atrium.

By being involved from an early design stage, we:

Worked with the architect to incorporate significant areas of acoustic absorption in both the atrium design and the design of the office floors;

Had open plan office floors which opened onto the main atrium;

Monitored and assessed the implementation of this developed design throughout the construction stage:

Attending site visits to make sure the recommended acoustic materials were being correctly installed;

Taking the necessary noise and vibration measurements for Building Control during the build process;

Conducting pre-completion sound insulation tests to meet both regulatory and the client’s own noise level standards.

Acoustic features of this project

With our expert input, the developed design of the office building used:

A slotted wood product in the atrium to fit in with the desired aesthetic;

An enhanced acoustic ceiling in the crèche to reduce the levels of noise transfer to and from the crèche and the office floors.

The project won the Brick Development Association 2010 Best Commercial Building Brick Award for being 'an impressive building that not only displays different ways of exploiting brick and brickwork but also contains a number of cutting edge environmental strategies that contribute to the BREEAM excellent rating it received'.